


the timing's never right

by cabriesun



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, nervous boys, senior prom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-16
Updated: 2018-03-16
Packaged: 2019-03-25 04:37:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13826631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cabriesun/pseuds/cabriesun
Summary: “So you’re planning to do a promposal?”“No—well I—I’m not sure yet,” Lance says, now flustered at the mention of exposing himself in such a flashy manner, “but if I ask Shiro to prom, it has to be—”“The perfect conditions, yeah yeah,” Pidge adjusts his glasses, obviously unamused by the topic, “Lance, we have your back no matter what. You know that. But are we still going to get pizza?”





	the timing's never right

**Author's Note:**

  * For [robotjellyfish](https://archiveofourown.org/users/robotjellyfish/gifts).



> a sweet pure [shance support squad](https://shancesupportsquad.tumblr.com/) 100 follower giveaway fic for [roro](http://poisonedfortunecookie.tumblr.com/)! terribly sorry for it being so late, but i hope that this prom fic makes up for it!
> 
> thanks to miishii, auro and bruce for beta-ing!
> 
> also, i listened to **roman holiday by halsey** a lot when writing this so... just a lil suggestion if you like tuneage!

Prom.  
  
The biggest night of the year.  
  
Or, the biggest night of the year for teenagers aged between sixteen and eighteen.  
  
The concept of prom had always been something that bewildered Lance. It was beyond him as to why there was such a bright spotlight on a single night. Girls pooled out money they could put towards future expenses on dresses worth a fortune that they would only wear once. Guys (though they claimed not to care that much) even left school early the day of to make sure they were just as well groomed (if not better) as the girls. All that effort and time for _one night_. It just…it had no meaning to Lance.  
  
He skipped prom junior year, opting to play video games with his friends until the crack of dawn instead of sitting in a ballroom in a stuffy tuxedo, utterly unamused by classmates he didn’t bother to recognize.  
  
Lance finally understands the big deal behind prom when his last year of high school starts, and Takashi Shirogane transfers into his literature class a week into the new year. He feels a twinge in his heart when Shiro introduces himself to the class that day; a twinge that Lance had never felt before.  
  
That twinge turned into an urge.  
  
The urge blossomed when Shiro opted to sit next to an unsuspecting Lance for what was to be the rest of the school year.  
  
After months of admiring him from his creaky classroom desk, he understands why his fellow students have this desire eating at them when prom season rolls around. It’s barely been a month, and Lance is already daydreaming; slow dances, stupid photo booth pictures, extensive critiques of the provided food. He wanted it, he wanted it _all_.  
  
_This_ was the time to make grand strides when it came to high school romance. If you wanted to make an impact in your love life, make yourself known, _you ask them to prom_. You take them, you make it the best night of their life, and suddenly they see you in a light that’s almost impossible to attain once the night ends.  
  
Lance wanted Shiro to see him in that bright ethereal light, and he wanted to see Shiro in that light too.  
  
He understood, but he was too late by then. It’s already April, and prom tickets sold out in two days. His dreams were now _situationally_ unattainable, rather than just realistically.  
  
The light was being whisked away from him and there was nothing he could do about it.  
  
“Lance, you know if you look too long people are going to think we’re weird. Weirder than they already think we are.”  
  
He knows Pidge is interrupting his trance with good intentions, but he chooses to ignore her advice.  
  
“I know, just…” He sighs quietly, leaning against his locker dramatically, his eyes fixated on Shiro, “give me a second.”  
  
Surrounded by his big group of friends, Shiro stands confidently amongst his current peers, each one of them an athlete of some sort. Lance had made it a mission to be at every single one of Shiro’s lacrosse games during his last season (only his friends knew how obsessively he’d watched), feeding his intrigue in everything the boy did. It was embarrassing, but Lance honestly couldn’t help himself. He was far too afraid to get to know him up close, so he settled with what he could get from afar.  
  
Not that it had really helped him in the long run. All he knew was that he was a star lacrosse player, and could write _incredible_ poetry.  
  
Promposals occurred every other day and Lance observed closely, knowing that he could surely obtain his own date. He wasn’t terribly hideous, and he had dated around quite a bit in his past high school. He just… didn’t want anyone else. He knew that the only person he wanted to go with, wouldn’t.  
  
It was his last resort. His _last chance_ , and he was almost positive he wouldn’t be able to pull it off. Even in his wildest dreams.  
  
“Look at him Pidge,” he sighs, slouching against the cold metal, “he’s…literally _flawless._ How is that scientifically accurate? He’s just—”  
  
“You haven’t asked, you know.”  
  
“Asked what, Keith?”  
  
“You haven’t asked him to prom. You don’t know what kind of guy he is. He could still want to go, you know?”  
  
“I don’t _need_ to ask,” Lance responds curtly, crossing his arms over his chest, “look at him. He doesn’t just _go to prom_ like the rest of us. He knows he’ll dominate it; he’s above it. He can’t--”  
  
“I beg to differ!” Hunk exclaims, smacking his arm lightly as he saunters up to the pair of looming teenagers, “Lance, you’re more than worthy of going to prom with Shiro. Don’t ever try to say that again.”  
  
“That’s not what I was going to say,” He sighs, “it’s just…prom doesn’t seem like his thing? It seems as if he has better things to do! Even if I did want to ask, with the chance of even getting a maybe, everything would have to be perfect.”  
  
Shiro laughs heartily, startling the four of them into looking away abruptly. Only Lance peeks from the inside of the locker they’re hiding behind, watching him tilt his head in the air as he smiles. Dimples. The boy, has _dimples_. They’re small, enough that if you aren’t observing close enough you’ll miss them. Spending the past 6 months observing the Shirogane boy was the reason why Lance is familiarized his prominent facial features. Therefore, dimples are certainly a brand new discovery for him. He’s never seen him laugh like that, hand sprawled against the center of his chest trying to stop himself before he loses his breath in his fit of joy.  
  
God, he’s perfect.  
  
“Define perfect.”  
  
“Excuse me?” His face burns a dark red at the bluntness of Hunk’s interrogation. Had he made that comment about Shiro out loud? Did anyone else hear him?!  
  
“Define everything having to be perfect when referring to the moment you ask him to prom.”  
  
Oh, never mind. He hadn’t after all.  
  
“I just—it has to be when neither of us is rushing to go somewhere else, or distracted, or bound to be interrupted. Timing is everything with these things, as I’ve learned this year.”  
  
“You’ve _learned_?” Keith looks up from his phone, chuckling with a bit of snark behind it, “Where have you learned this?”  
  
“I watch, I _observe_ ,” He shuts his locker, twisting the lock as he leads the way to the school’s parking lot, “all these proposals have been planned down to the moment it’s revealed.”  
  
“So you’re planning to do a promposal?”  
  
“No—well I—I’m not sure yet,” he continues, now flustered at the mention of exposing himself in such a flashy manner, “but if I ask him it has to be—”  
  
“ _The perfect conditions_ , yeah yeah,” Pidge adjusts her glasses, obviously unamused by the topic, “Lance, we have your back no matter what. You know that. Are we still going to get pizza?”  
  
“Definitely,” Keith groans, rubbing his belly and leaning over, “my stomach and I are in agony.”  
  
“Yeah yeah, Kogane,” Lance smirks, turning around to face him as he continues to walk, “nothing can ever quench that damn hunger of yo—”  
  
“Lance watch it—!”  
  
He toppled over a leg and reaches out for the first thing he can grab onto, dragging down a sorry bystander along with him. His backpack protects his back from the fall, elevating his head as well and preventing it from hitting the tile.  
  
His computer rests in the back of his backpack. Lance’s stomach sinks when he remembers.  
  
When he rolls over to see he’s taken Shiro down to the ground with him, his heart stops beating.    
  
_Oh god._  
  
His friends stand above him, awkward and unmoving. On the other side of him, Shiro’s looming pack of fellow athletes complete the circle surrounding the two boys sprawled on the floor.  
  
_Oh god, oh god, oh god._  
  
“Shit…” Lance whispers, scrambling to help Shiro gather his things. His clumsiness always came to bite him in the ass at horrific times. Yes, he was certainly able to recover and move on when they happened, but _this?_ He wasn’t so sure if he could willingly fathom this, let alone get over it.  
  
During his rushed recovery his eyes catch Shiro’s and he has to stop the tears pricking in the corners of his eyes. The humiliation was overwhelming and he wishes that everyone would just stop _staring_ at him. It almost feels like Shiro had just caught him staring from afar, that he did more than fall and make his poor crush pay the price as well.  
  
How did he go from planning on asking Shiro to _this?_  
  
Low chuckles rumble from above him, stomach dropping to depths he hadn’t known existed. Shiro’s friends sauntered away from them, chuckling as the disappeared down the hall. Lance scrambles to apologize to him, his dreadful feeling mixed with guilt driving his future actions from this point on. When he begins to ramble out what was to be an endless apology, the unexpected sound of Shiro’s laughter stops him.  
  
_Was he laughing too?_  
  
“What’s so funny…?” Lance questions him cautiously, unsure of what he’s going to hear next. He eventually learned that expecting the best when it came to high school was only a step down to self-destruction.    
  
“No no--” Shiro’s now holding his stomach as he doubles over, reaching into his backpack. Lance glances up at his friends, who stand still as they watch the exchange play out in front of them.  
  
“Shiro I’m _so_ sorry for tripping you--”  
  
“Lance, it’s _fine_ \--”  
  
The Cuban boy does a double take, shocked that Shiro even remembers his name. He clutches heart unconsciously, but light to the touch. That light grasp turns into a death grip as his long-time crush reveals a red rose and two strikingly familiar slips of sturdy paper. Was he…he couldn’t be.  
  
His eyes travel back up to his friends, but they all have their phones out, waving the beaming flash of their cameras in his face. He covers his eyes, turning away only to be greeted by Shiro, who is now sitting distressingly close to him while holding out his offering.  
  
So he hadn’t imagined it. He pinches himself subtly to make sure, but he’s not dreaming, bound to wake up in his bedroom. In Shiro’s hands were a beautiful, blossoming crimson rose and two prom tickets.  
  
“I was going to do this later on,” he grins, “but I guess this works too? So uh…do you want to go to prom with me? If it isn’t too late to ask?”  
  
The ground beneath Lance could have caved in, swallowing him whole, and he still wouldn’t be able to alleviate the smile spreading across his face. He can feel the complacent energy coming off of his friends when he turns back to look at them, and Lance puts two and two together, knowing that they were definitely involved with what would have been Shiro’s promposal.  
  
“Fuck,” He covers his mouth, laughing in disbelief as he reaches out to take the rose from Shiro’s still fingertips, “I mean, _yeah_ I’ll go with you!”  
  
“Oh my god, great!” Shiro beams, “Great, uh okay, so here’s your ticket…”  
  
The ticket exchange isn’t as awkward as passing the rose between the two of them, or swapping phone numbers while their things still sit in a pile on the ground. Keith, Hunk, and Pidge are still posting on their Snapchat stories carelessly, though their friend is oblivious to it all in the midst of the boy he’d been pining after for almost a year.  
  
“Thanks,” Lance manages to muster a sentence, “I-I mean for you know, asking me and all.”  
  
“Thanks for says yes,” He returns Lance’s gratitude with a sweet smile, bearing his teeth, “I’d been planning for months and I was so sure you were going to say no.”  
  
_M-months?_  
  
“Shit,” He chuckles nervously in response, “wow, well you were wrong about that.”  
  
“I’m glad I was,” Shiro waves, turning the corner and disappearing from the scene as quickly as he had made his alarming entrance. Lance’s heart begins it’s ascent to its place in his chest upon watching him leave, breathing returning to its original and healthier rate. Keith’s obnoxious snorts (a result of him trying to hold back his laugh) pull Lance back from his trance.  
  
“I was _not_ expecting it to go down like that, honestly. We thought that you’d at least make it to the courtyard but I guess not.”  
  
Lance grins, clutching the flowers and ticket in his hands excitedly. He’s going to prom; granted he was going to attend anyway, but regardless he was going to prom with _Shiro_. That was a big deal! Not only did he manage to score a date from the heavens, but he didn’t have to ask. Shiro already wanted to go with him, to begin with. If that wasn’t perfection, Lance didn’t know what was.  
  
He got to experience it all; buying tuxedos, going to the _fittings_ together and watching Shiro strip himself down to his boxers, working out flower arrangements, plans for afterwards, and he even got to spend _prom weekend_ with him, the group planning to go to one of the nearby beach houses that Hunk owned.  
  
They agreed to combine their friend groups and go take pictures together at one of the nearby boardwalks, since the only ones with dates were Shiro, with Lance and Keith, with Hunk.  
  
Lance was in heaven all the way up to the day of. _Maybe_ he cried the morning of when their tuxes didn’t come in on the right day, only showing up at the very last minute. He was certainly going to leave that part out when he was talking to Shiro at school later on. They sadly didn’t get to talk for long, considering that they both went their separate ways at noon, granted an early dismissal by the school.  
  
Shiro has certainly been fantastic during the process, lending Lance the reins for the majority of it. He learned that the lacrosse player was a gentleman before anything else, which was an _extremely_ attractive quality.  
  
By the time Shiro shows up at his door with his boutonniere, dressed in the slim tux they had picked out and sporting a sheepish smile with his mother hovering excitedly behind him?  
  
Lance is sure that this is much more than a crush. If this feeling isn't love, he isn’t sure what is.  
  
How did he get this lucky?  
  
“Are we done with pictures?” He begs of his mother, the euphoria long gone as his hand rests on Shiro’s chest for the pose, “we can take a thousand more at the boardwalk but we have to _go_ if we wanna make it there in time!”  
  
Shiro nods in agreement, to Lance’s upmost approval.  
  
“Okay,” his mother sighs, locking her phone and nodding to Shiro’s mom, “if they say so. So we’re following your car, Shiro?”  
  
“Yes ma'am,” Shiro tosses Lance’s mother a Prince Charming worthy smile before wrapping a sly hand around her son’s shoulders. Lance swoons, heart beating at a dangerously high rate.  
  
At the boardwalk, he doesn’t pay much attention to Shiro, the excitement of seeing his friends all dressed up in tuxedos and flashy dresses overwhelming him. Especially because two of his friends managed to get together two weeks before the night of prom.  
  
“Wow Hunk,” he had mused, smirking at Keith from afar, “your _boyfriend_ looks really nice in that tuxedo.”  
  
“Thanks for reminding me,” he throws Lance a similar look, “yours looks good too.”  
  
“Shut up,” the young man grumbles, “you know damn well we’re not dating.”  
  
“Why not?!” Hunk exclaims, “he’s into you! It’s so obvious Lance, you didn’t even have to ask him to prom. You’ve been talking about how amazing he is for the past two months! Just fucking _kiss him_ —”  
  
“Shh!” He covers his mouth, pulling him down, “Not so loud!”  
  
“Get off me…” His best friend pouts, crossing his arms, “you know you want to. Just _do it_ , Lance.”  
  
“I have to wait for the perfect time,” he complains, “where we aren’t interrupted or—”  
  
“Lance _no_ time is going to be perfect! He’s here now; you have him for the _entire night_. Do something, or I’ll make you do something.”  
  
The wise words from his friend echo internally during pictures, the drive to the venue, and even on the dance floor. Shiro honestly is an _idiot_ ; but in the best way. His dancing was outrageous to a point where Lance had to sit down and catch his breath. Shiro is probably the worst dancer he’s ever met, but the _best_ person to dance with. Despite the weird looks he was getting he would still be smiling brighter than the rising sun as he playfully spun Lance around with his right hand.  
  
They had both agreed to skip the dinner portion of the night (Shiro promised that they’d pick something up later), and instead talked amongst each other. They were at a table with their friends, but it was only them in their own little world.  
  
‘The Royal Ball’ was the theme this year, the prom committee craving the fairytale that everyone wants to live every once in awhile. Lance is grateful for it, being that it gave him an excuse to make their color scheme gold and black. Shiro, as expected, was down for whatever Lance wanted.  
  
The two of them had an endless conversation, sharing laughs some wholesome that Lance didn’t want the dance floor to interrupt them. God he just wanted to sit there forever, hidden in the darkness and hints of LED light lining the room. He wanted to kiss Shiro then and there, interrupted where no one could see them. The time was perfect; his eyes were low as Shiro looked down at his prom date, who sat innocently in the seat beside him.  
  
_Kiss him!_ The voice in his head screams relentlessly, _Kiss him now!_  
  
“This is so fucking fun,” Shiro flashes him with a toothy smile, taking a sip of his water, “like, I was already expecting a good time with you, but this is _amazing_. Everything’s so pretty, and you…”  
  
Lance’s breath hitches, though he doubts Shiro could hear it over the loud music playing. Was he…did he…did that just…?  
  
“Hey! Lance!”  
  
The brunette turns to Hunk, stomach dropping from adrenaline admixed with panic as his friend waves them over to the dance floor. _God Hunk_ , he fumes, _not now_.  
  
“Are you guys gonna dance or what?!”  
  
“In a second!” Lance calls back, but Shiro is already getting up from his seat to leave their little hiding spot. _Fuck fuck fuck!_ He was losing his opportunity!   
  
Hunk saunters away to return to Keith, semi-assured the pair will join them soon enough, but Lance’s entire resolve shatters when he sees Shiro holding his hand out to lead them back to the dancefloor he just _wishes_ hadn’t interrupted.  
  
“Wanna go for a spin?” His date asks, hand still outstretched in his direction, awaiting for a discernible response.  
  
The spotlights shine behind him, casting a glow in his eyes that Lance marvels, heart rising back into his chest, falling, and shattering all at once as he promptly declares, well, _screw it_ , and grabs the lapels of Shiro’s tuxedo with his clammy hands, dragging him down for that kiss that he _oh so desperately needed_.  
  
Shiro makes a noise of surprise, unsure of what’s going on until the warm sensation of Lance’s mouth on his finally seeps in. He hums, reaching down to hold the smaller boy’s hips respectively with one hand as the other that was previously meant for his hand reaches up to caress his face.  
  
He was planning to kiss him on the dance floor, give Lance a moment he’ll never forget. But just as he has for the past two months, he turned all the tables on Shiro.  
  
The bass still thumped in their ears, lights gleaming as brightly as they had before they collided, and their friends still looked at the two lovebirds with gleeful smirks as Lance and Shiro finally _, finally_ sang their sappy love songs in harmony with each other.  
  
“ _Holy shit,_ ” both of them whisper as they retract. Their gasps are audible above the music this time around, Lance’s grip still firm on his lapels while Shiro’s palms waver, confused as to what to do next.  
  
“Wow…” Lance utters, letting go as soon as he notices he’s still holding on for dear life, lips stinging with Shiro’s kiss, “I…”  
  
“I have no words…” The latter can barely form a sentence, “you’re _amazing_. _What?_ ”  
  
“My legs feel like jello, Shiro!” His smile stretches across his whole face, dazzling and broad as he looks up at his beyond incredible, gorgeous, chivalrous, straight from a dream date.  
  
“I was gonna kiss _you_ , you know.” The lacrosse player states, leaning on the table behind them. Lance follows, walking in between his legs and reaching out to grasp his big hands in his own.  
  
“Well, you asked me to prom. Therefore, I guess I owed you the surprise of the first kiss.”  
  
“I was gonna do it on the dance floor!” Shiro motions to the slow dance that’s taking place behind the couple, a slow and sweet ballad blaring through the speakers, “You know, make it romantic. Unforgettable, if you may. The timing would have been perfect.”  
  
“Oh please,” Lance huffs, remembering what Hunk had told him, reaching out to run his fingertips along Shiro’s stubble-free chin, “the timing’s never right anyway.”  
  
“Does that mean we can kiss again now, and not later?”  
  


“Kiss me as much as you want, Takashi. Now, later, whenever you want.” Lance leans down, bringing their lips together again, making sure to revel in the rush of passionate spontaneity.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed!
> 
>  
> 
> you can follow my tumblr [sheith-keef](https://sheith-keef.tumblr.com/) here, and the main page for [shiro loves you baby](https://shirolovesyou-baby.tumblr.com/) here.
> 
> also, for your nsfw needs,  
> a writing/art event (coming soon) run by the slyb mods, [#wrecklance2k18](https://wrecklance2k18.tumblr.com/).


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